Using information about a financial transaction to augment information in an online social network

Abstract

A system that facilitates using information about a financial transaction to augment information in a representation of a social network. During operation, the system receives parameters for a financial transaction involving a number of entities. Next, the system determines one or more associations between the entities and the parameters. The system then uses the determined associations to augment information about entities in the representation of the social network.

1 . A method for using information about a financial transaction to augment information in a representation of a social network, comprising:
 receiving parameters for a financial transaction involving a number of entities;   determining one or more associations between the entities and the parameters; and   using the determined associations to augment information about entities in the representation of the social network.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein using an association to augment information about an entity involves using the association to add information to a profile for the entity, wherein the profile is contained in the representation of the social network. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the profile contains demographic information about the entity. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein using an association to augment the information about the entities involves using the association to generate a link between entities in the representation of the social network, wherein the link is associated with information about the financial transaction. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the information associated with the link can include:
 an item involved in the financial transaction;   an amount of money involved in the financial transaction;   a service involved in the financial transaction; and   any other information associated with the financial transaction.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein if two entities in the social network have not previously engaged in a financial transaction, the method further comprises facilitating manual creation of a link between the two entities. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the method further comprises generating a visualization of the social network, wherein the visualization includes nodes and links between the nodes, wherein a node is associated with an entity in the social network. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein using an association to augment information about an entity involves using the association to verify information in a profile for the entity involved in the financial transaction, wherein the profile is contained in the representation of the social network. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises using information about an entity in another social network to augment information about a corresponding entity in the social network. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises using information about an entity in the social network to augment information about a corresponding entity in another social network. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the financial transaction can include:
 a credit card transaction;   a checking account transaction;   a brokerage account transaction, or   any other transaction that involves a financial instrument or account.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the social network can be queried to determine:
 one or more shared attributes between entities in the social network;   a price for a product or for a service which was paid by an entity in the social network;   a referral for a product or for a service which was used by an entity in the social network;   market research data based on financial transactions made by entities in the social network; or   any other query based on parameters associated with financial transactions within the social network.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein prior to receiving the financial transaction, the method further comprises:
 determining whether an entity involved in the financial transaction has authorized the publication of information associated with the financial transaction; and   if so, requesting information about the financial transaction.   
     
     
         14 . A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform a method for using information about a financial transaction to augment information in a representation of a social network, comprising:
 receiving parameters for a financial transaction involving a number of entities;   determining one or more associations between the entities and the parameters; and   using the determined associations to augment information about entities in the representation of the social network.   
     
     
         15 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein using an association to augment information about an entity involves using the association to add information to a profile for the entity, wherein the profile is contained in the representation of the social network. 
     
     
         16 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 15 , wherein the profile contains demographic information about the entity. 
     
     
         17 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein using an association to augment the information about the entities involves using the association to generate a link between entities in the representation of the social network, wherein the link is associated with information about the financial transaction. 
     
     
         18 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein the information associated with the link can include:
 an item involved in the financial transaction;   an amount of money involved in the financial transaction;   a service involved in the financial transaction; and   any other information associated with the financial transaction.   
     
     
         19 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein if two entities in the social network have not previously engaged in a financial transaction, the method further comprises facilitating the manual creation of a link between the two entities. 
     
     
         20 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein the method further comprises generating a visualization of the social network, wherein the visualization includes nodes and links between the nodes, wherein a node is associated with an entity in the social network. 
     
     
         21 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein using an association to augment information about an entity involves using the association to verify information in a profile for the entity involved in the financial transaction, wherein the profile is contained in the representation of the social network. 
     
     
         22 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein the method further comprises using information about an entity in another social network to augment information about a corresponding entity in the social network. 
     
     
         23 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein the method further comprises using information about an entity in the social network to augment information about a corresponding entity in another social network. 
     
     
         24 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein the financial transaction can include:
 a credit card transaction;   a checking account transaction;   a brokerage account transaction, or   any other transaction that involves a financial instrument or account.   
     
     
         25 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein the social network can be queried to determine:
 one or more shared attributes between entities in the social network;   a price for a product or for a service which was paid by an entity in the social network;   a referral for a product or for a service which was used by an entity in the social network;   market research data based on financial transactions made by entities in the social network; or   any other query based on parameters associated with financial transactions within the social network.   
     
     
         26 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein prior to receiving the financial transaction, the method further comprises:
 determining whether an entity involved in the financial transaction has authorized the publication of information associated with the financial transaction; and   if so, requesting information about the financial transaction.   
     
     
         27 . An apparatus that facilitates using information about a financial transaction to augment information in a representation of a social network, comprising:
 an I/O interface which receives parameters for a financial transaction involving a number of entities; and   a processor which is configured to through programming to use the received parameters to determine one or more associations between the entities and the parameters, and to use the determined associations to augment information about entities in the representation of the social network; and   a storage device which stores the augmented information about the entities in the representation of the social network.   
     
     
         28 . A system that facilitates using information about a financial transaction to augment information in a representation of a social network, comprising:
 a financial transaction processor which receives a financial source used to fulfill a financial transaction, wherein the financial transaction processor transmits parameters for the financial transaction involving a number of entities to a financial institution;   the financial institution processor which processes the parameters for the financial transaction to determine whether the financial transaction can be fulfilled and transmits the parameters for the financial transaction to an aggregator;   the aggregator which determines one or more associations between the entities and the parameters and uses the determined associations to augment information about entities in the representation of the social network.   
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 28 , wherein while augmenting the information about the entities, the aggregator uses the association to add information to a profile for the entity, wherein the profile is contained in the representation of the social network. 
     
     
         30 . The system of  claim 29 , wherein the profile contains demographic information about the entity. 
     
     
         31 . The system of  claim 28 , wherein while augmenting the information about the entities, the aggregator uses the association to generate a link between entities in the representation of the social network, wherein the link is associated with information about the financial transaction. 
     
     
         32 . The system of  claim 28 , wherein while augmenting the information about the entities, the aggregator uses the association to verify information in a profile for the entity involved in the financial transaction, wherein the profile is contained in the representation of the social network. 
     
     
         33 . The system of  claim 28 , wherein the aggregator is a financial institution. 
     
     
         34 . The system of  claim 28 , wherein the aggregator is a third-party aggregator that collects information about financial transactions to augment information in a representation of a social network. 
     
     
         35 . The system of  claim 28 , further comprising a merchant system which stores a second set of parameters for the financial transaction, wherein the merchant system transmits the second set of parameters for the financial transaction to the aggregator. 
     
     
         36 . The system of  claim 35 , wherein the second set of parameters can include:
 a description of items involved in the financial transaction;   a description of services involved in the financial transaction;   information about the entities involved in the transaction; and   any other information associated with the financial transaction.   
     
     
         37 . The system of  claim 28 , wherein the parameters can include:
 an item involved in the financial transaction;   an amount of money involved in the financial transaction;   a service involved in the financial transaction; and   any other information associated with the financial transaction.   
     
     
         38 . The system of  claim 28 , wherein the financial transaction can include:
 a credit card transaction;   a checking account transaction;   a brokerage account transaction, or   any other transaction that involves a financial instrument or account.